“Felicitation” of the K’taka Health Dept Officials, for Not Implementing the KPME Act

Karnataka Janaarogya Chaluvali (Karnataka People’s Health Movement) is “felicitating” the health department officials to celebrate their “achievement” of not implementing the “watered down” Karnataka Private Medical Establishments Act, 2007 (KPME), and denying justice to patients. The KPME Act, 2007 was enacted even before the Clinical Establishment Act, 2010 – a central legislation with the aim of registering private hospitals and monitoring their functioning. Following its poor implementation, the Act was amended in 2017 to make it “citizen-centric”, and to “protect the welfare and ensure safety of citizens” in the private hospitals. However, the invitation circulated to the press read, “It's been 10 months since the watered down KPME Act, 2017 was passed. But there is no sign of its implementation. The health department's deep slumber has facilitated the achievement of such a lofty goal.” 

The “felicitation” programme, which will be held in the campus of the Directorate of Health and Family Welfare Services, Anand Rao circle in Bengaluru, will have “patients who have been made to run from pillar to post” in attendance. The patients at the event will be sharing their experiences in the private hospitals. 

Karnataka is one of the first Indian states to put a state health policy in place in 2004. It has also been a pioneer in government-supported health insurance schemes, with Yashaswini (2002) and Vajpayee Aarogyasri (2010) being among the first initiatives in India. However, the state government’s expenditure on public health has reduced. According to the Karnataka government’s data in the Economic Survey of Karnataka (2017-18), the stagnation in funds has adversely affected the functioning of the public health facilities. This in turn has become a clear invitation for private sectors to have an upper hand in the health sector, and thus, the KPME Act becomes crucial.  The Act has stood against the schemes supporting the private health sector. However, the state government amended the Act in 2017, and it was approved by the governor in 2018.  

Also read: Karnataka’s Expenditure on Education and Health is Shockingly Low

The KPME Act was passed in 2007 with an aim to replace the Karnataka Private Nursing Home (Regulation) Act, 1976 with more of a comprehensive legislation. The Act was to bring upon a legal control over private medical establishments (PMEs) in the state. It made the registration of PMEs mandatory, and also laid down guidelines to ensure their quality. The private players in the health sectors have always opposed the Act. When the government had put forward its amendment plans, the proposed amendments were severely criticised by the private doctors. 

Also read: Why is the Private Hospital Sector so Difficult to Regulate?

According to a report in The Hindu, the state government then had claimed that the amendment will pave way for it to fix the rates for each class of treatment, and will provide grievance redressal systems. The amendment, it had argued, would focus on putting a stop to the practice of demanding advance payment in case of emergency, and not releasing dead bodies to relatives till all the dues have been settled. The amendment increased the fines and maximum imprisonment periods. The fine for running a non-registered private medical establishment has been increased from Rs. 10,000 to Rs. 5,00,000. Similarly, the fine and term of imprisonment for non-adherence to the rules regarding maintenance of clinical records and payments has been increased from six months and Rs. 2,000 to three years and Rs.1,00,000 respectively.

The fate of the implementation of the amended Act has been the same as it was in the case of the Act of 2007. On the one hand, the law to regulate the private hospitals is amended and not implemented, while on the other hand, the allocation of funds for the public health in the budget is reduced, paving way for privatisation of the health sector. 

The poor implementation of the Act has helped the private hospitals remain unregulated, and thus, has put the people in a need of healthcare in a vulnerable position. In today’s “felicitation” of the health department, the patients will be protesting against the soft corner of the government for the private players in the health sector. 

Also Read: Privatisation of Karnataka’s Health Sector: Karnataka to Sign an MoU With AB-NHPS